Orange Belgium has filed a lawsuit to stop the sale of cable operator Voo to Providence Equity. Orange uses the Voo network and had been interested in the takeover itself.
Orange asked the court for an injunction against the seller Nethys and buyer OTP Luxco declaring the sale agreement invalid. It also wants the court to appoint an expert investigator to look at how the sale agreement was reached. The company said the deal raises questions concerning the amount of the original price, the profit sharing conditions for the former management and the lack of competitive bidding.
Nethys agreed the sale of Voo last May. The deal was later suspended when it became known in the press, and the public shareholders of Nethys claimed they had not been properly informed. Enodia, the parent company of Nethys, agreed to resume negotiations with Providence in December, saying it would be too difficult to unwind the agreement.
Telenet had also been interested in a takeover of Voo. Its CEO John Porter told De Tijd earlier that the company would not sue for now, as it tries to keep its working relationship with Voo stable. Voo relies on the Telenet mobile network and the companies also cooperate on certain content rights.
